Some days, a thrift shopper finds themself in the right place at the right time, like this home cook who found their dream thrift item: a like-new Le Creuset tagine for only $13 — a 96% discount.
They posted a picture of it in the subreddit r/ThriftStoreHauls with the caption, "Was discussing Moroccan food and my desire to dig deeper into African cuisine not a day before this find. I've always wanted one but not enough to shell out $300!"
Commenters congratulated them. "My jealousy knows no bounds," one person joked.
"I am so envious!" another wrote. "My parents lived in Morocco before I was born, and my mom used to make curries in a tagine. This is an incredible find!"
For home cooks, thrift shopping is an amazing way to level up in the kitchen. From finding brand names like KitchenAid to Le Creuset for upwards of 90% off, there's no shortage of deeply discounted name brands.
And while the prices are lower, the quality of secondhand items rivals anything brand new. In many cases, it even surpasses it.
Planned obsolescence lurks in every industry, with manufacturers and brands purposefully downgrading the quality of their products so that consumers replace them frequently. Instead, buying used finds often means finding higher-quality vintage items, like a $2,000 couch for only $7.
Thrift shopping is also popular among fashion lovers, who regularly score designer clothes, bags, and jewelry for pennies on the dollar. In fact, regular thrift shoppers save an average of $1,700 per year.
There's another benefit to thrifting, particularly thrifting clothing — keeping dollars out of the toxic fast-fashion industry. Fast fashion, the process of manufacturing cheaply made, mass-produced textiles, produces 100 million tons of textile waste every year, according to Earth.org. With 99% of that waste settling in landfills and the ocean, the industry is a major source of chemical pollution.
🗣️ What's your primary motivation in shopping at thrift stores?
🔘 Cheaper clothes 🤑
🔘 Trendier items 😎
🔘 Reduced environmental impact 🌎
🔘 I don't thrift 🚫
🗳️ Click your choice to see results and speak your mind
For all these reasons, buying secondhand is growing in popularity among consumers of all income levels. According to a report from secondhand clothing seller ThredUp, the global secondhand apparel market grew three times faster than the general market in 2023. This explosive growth puts the industry on track for an $84 billion valuation by 2030.
"WOW! So cool," one person enthused about the tagine. "I've wanted one for a while. But haven't purchased yet. Guess I'd better go thrifting!"
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